Talk:Hacking
Laggy Article Way too much unnecesarry information on this page bogging it down. You do not need any hacking items equipped throughout the game (depending on skill with the minigame). Most of the information here is trying to tell people how they should play the game instead of letting them play it themselves, ideally the article should be an outline of the basic function of the minigame not a complete guide of every possible combination of items or strategies other people use. If this is acceptable feel free to ignore this, but I thought it prudent to point out that more popular game wikis are far more streamlined when it comes to their articles. A long winded article intimidates the reader rather than helping them. Mictlantecuhtli 23:28, December 3, 2010 (UTC) I'd like to present the opposing viewpoint: hacking is both a complex and essential part of the game, and is the perfect location to put in strategy tips. Secondly, the article is broken up into sections and then bulletpoints for easier reading: if you want to check only on one precise bit of the article (description, strategy tips, etc.) you can automatically skip there. Thirdly, we're an exhaustive wiki, i.e. one that seeks to fully inform the reader instead of giving them a general idea of what the idea is. We're not exactly forcing the reader to follow these strategies either: as a matter of fact, it would be better if they experimented and found new options, like that we could add to the relevant section. --Willbachbakal 23:36, December 3, 2010 (UTC) :I'll agree with you that reading this article is exhausting. All joking aside though, I can respect that outlook as long as it's mentioned clearly that the player does not need any tonics, etc to successfully hack depending on their skill with the minigame. Mictlantecuhtli 00:08, December 4, 2010 (UTC) ::I never rely on Engineering Tonics when playing the game, so I agree with you that, although the Tonics mentioned are good suggestions, they're not necessary. On the other hand, they represent a third of all the Gene Tonics in the game, and most of them are designed with the sole purpose of making hacking easier, so it would be even worse to conspicuously avoid mentioning them. --Willbachbakal 00:46, December 4, 2010 (UTC) ColorBlind So, my dad's colorblind, and with the new hacking game, he can't hack (Red and Green are the same to him.) unless i'm there. Is there some kind of correction to make the hacking mini-game colorblind-friendly? Thanks. signed in Little_sister7364 :Color-blind friendly hacking has already been implemented by the developers. It was in the Patch 1.0.0.4. If you have the patch, then red bars show with darker stripes through them to distinguish them from the green. If you have that patch and the stripes still aren't showing, you may need to download a DLC for it to be added in. See this forum post for an explanation: Colorblind Hacking Issue Secretly fixed with PT ~'Gardimuer' [[User talk:Gardimuer|{ ʈalk }]] 19:01, February 6, 2011 (UTC) : : Ok, thank you very much :) : Little sister7364 01:39, March 3, 2011 (UTC)Little_sister7364 : : Hacking? It's just something I've been thinking over though that is in no way meant to contest this page's name, but isn't the word hacking misused in the BioShock series? Technically hacking involves tampering with computer data and programs in order to bypass access levels and securities. In the first BioShock, we're merely rerouting conduits for some kind of energy liquid (I think it was ADAM in original concepts) looking and behaving like electric gel. In the sequel, we're sending electric signals to change the configuration of automated systems and vending machines. In the multiplayer and BaS 2, it is some kind of mechanical tampering. So if none of those methods are real hacking, perhaps we should mention that in the behind the scenes section? Pauolo (talk) 23:42, April 19, 2015 (UTC) While you are correct, the action is called "hacking" in the game by not only the text, but also other people, including Andrew Ryan. Now, I have absolutely no say in what goes on with the page, but I just wanted to throw that out there. Peace. TheLighthouse (talk) 23:51, April 19, 2015 (UTC) :I'm perfectly aware of that, hence why I started this comment of the word being misused in-game and not specifically on this page. Pauolo (talk) 00:07, April 20, 2015 (UTC) :Ah, I see. I misunderstood you at first. My apologies. TheLighthouse (talk) 03:09, April 20, 2015 (UTC) ::While you're correct that it's an improper use of the word "hacking," there's a very good reason why it's there. The interface is similar to what's done in many other games, so while the action is not correctly named, it's still understood by the general videogame public as a "hacking event." It would seem needlessly out of place to call the action "bypassing" or "reconfiguring" just to be more accurate when the word "hacking" is so clearly entrenched in the public consciousness. It's like how guarding the Little Sister through the Proving Grounds is called an "escort mission" even though she frequently is outrunning Jack. ::I don't see any real need to make a note of this in the "Behind the Scenes" section when this talk page article will suffice. It's like Testxyz levels of hypercriticality. ::Unownshipper (talk) 05:17, April 20, 2015 (UTC) :::I think it's more linked to its use in the System Shock series which also had mini-games for hacking. My point wasn't to get hypercritically, just a remark which I judged had more its place in the comment section first than on the page. If in popular culture hacking in video games involve a mini-game, I can understand why they called it rewiring in Dishonored since it's something done automatically. :::Btw, even though we don't have confirmation of that, do you think the liquid in the Pipe Dream mini-game is electric gel? I don't think it's specified in the artbook either. Pauolo (talk) 08:47, April 20, 2015 (UTC) :::Hacking (its original term use) was to gain access to a system for some purpose (like stealing data or money, or bragging rights, etc..). It wasnt just by programming but also often included physically tapping into systems. The term is now generally used for all of the various nefarious activities. Does it really matter if it is via a mechanical activity or through a data system? We apparently are changing the programming/operation of the machines away from their original state to get some benefit. :::In the first Bioshock concept ideas/design we were (allegedly) channeling ADAM to some living entity inside the machine to bribe it into helping us (I forget if that was in the concept book captions, or was in one of the interviews). :::Hypercriticality is in the mind of the beholder. ::: 16:30, April 20, 2015 (UTC) ::::So the way it is used, hacking means diverting control of a system, regardless of means? I can go with that I think. Pauolo (talk) 16:40, April 20, 2015 (UTC) :::::If I recall correctly, the concept art stated that the vending machines were manually operated by a little man or similar creature who lived inside the machine (weird). You could convince him to give you what you wanted by increasing his ADAM flow via hacking (similar to increasing the stream of an IV drip). It wasn't clear in the concept art if the gel was ADAM itself or just the control fluid that regulated the flow. :::::When hacking the first Security Bot in the Medical Pavilion, the help guide calls it "metallic liquid." Until I looked it up again, I thought it was Electric Gel. Maybe it works on the same principle, like the "metalic liquid" is just a highly conductive metal in liquid form. :::::Unownshipper (talk) 22:30, April 20, 2015 (UTC) ::::::Yes I remember, and it wasn't the weirdest of their concept too (like audio diaries being living things or the first gatherer concepts). I wonder if the game would have worked as much with all those crazy ideas, though Ken Levine wanted in the end a game with more humans than monsters. ::::::You're right, the game calls it "metallic liquid" on the hacking hint texts. It's possible they mistook it for a liquid containing metal ions (ionic gel?), which sounds less dangerous to handle than any metal at its fusion temperature, imho. Pauolo (talk) 22:44, April 21, 2015 (UTC)